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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 10, 2024 18:23:36 GMT 7
Hey, can someone explain to me how this works? Specifically receiving an Australian pension in south East Asia? do you just open a new account with a local bank and ask centerlink to deposit your money into that account? I have absolutely no idea. I hear you can use your existing card overseas but I imagine that wouldn't be suitable long term
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Post by bear on Feb 11, 2024 6:55:00 GMT 7
1. To put it simply; Yes. Of course there's a process to follow with forms to fill out and it works world wide. It can be facilitated from overseas using online FAX services but...... it's advisable to have money to cover yourself for about six weeks until it all gels.
The payment then becomes monthly, is converted & sent by the RBA in whatever currency the country you're in uses. Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam you get USD. England GBP. Thailand THB.
2. If you mean 'existing ATM card'; Yes, you can use that overseas for as long as you want. You'll just have to tolerate the fees & charges from both ends.
Alternatively; open an OS bank account and use a transfer exchange service to send money to it yourself from your Australian bank account. Cheers 🐻
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Post by Denis-NFA on Feb 11, 2024 15:23:26 GMT 7
bear, When I first headed overseas I actually found the easiest of the lot was to leave my back account as it was so the pension was paid in and opened a Western Union account while I was still in Australia for overseas use. That way you avoid atm fees and bank exchange rates if you use your card overseas and it gives you time to look around at local in-country banks. I still occasionally use them if the local bank's atm or computers are not working.
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 11, 2024 20:59:53 GMT 7
1. To put it simply; Yes. Of course there's a process to follow with forms to fill out and it works world wide. It can be facilitated from overseas using online FAX services but...... it's advisable to have money to cover yourself for about six weeks until it all gels. The payment then becomes monthly, is converted & sent by the RBA in whatever currency the country you're in uses. Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam you get USD. England GBP. Thailand THB. 2. If you mean 'existing ATM card'; Yes, you can use that overseas for as long as you want. You'll just have to tolerate the fees & charges from both ends. Alternatively; open an OS bank account and use a transfer exchange service to send money to it yourself from your Australian bank account. Cheers 🐻 thanks, third option sounds easy enough, but perhaps it's better to just have the OS account in the long run. Is a transfer exchange service costly? And what is RBA?
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 11, 2024 21:01:42 GMT 7
bear, When I first headed overseas I actually found the easiest of the lot was to leave my back account as it was so the pension was paid in and opened a Western Union account while I was still in Australia for overseas use. That way you avoid atm fees and bank exchange rates if you use your card overseas and it gives you time to look around at local in-country banks. I still occasionally use them if the local bank's atm or computers are not working. so you ultimately just ended up getting your pension put into an overseas account? What was that process like?
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 11, 2024 21:05:15 GMT 7
bear, When I first headed overseas I actually found the easiest of the lot was to leave my back account as it was so the pension was paid in and opened a Western Union account while I was still in Australia for overseas use. That way you avoid atm fees and bank exchange rates if you use your card overseas and it gives you time to look around at local in-country banks. I still occasionally use them if the local bank's atm or computers are not working. not familiar with western union. How did that work? You just transferred money from your existing bank to your western union account? And that incurs no fees overseas?
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Post by bear on Feb 12, 2024 5:08:06 GMT 7
1. To put it simply; Yes. Of course there's a process to follow with forms to fill out and it works world wide. It can be facilitated from overseas using online FAX services but...... it's advisable to have money to cover yourself for about six weeks until it all gels. The payment then becomes monthly, is converted & sent by the RBA in whatever currency the country you're in uses. Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam you get USD. England GBP. Thailand THB. 2. If you mean 'existing ATM card'; Yes, you can use that overseas for as long as you want. You'll just have to tolerate the fees & charges from both ends. Alternatively; open an OS bank account and use a transfer exchange service to send money to it yourself from your Australian bank account. Cheers 🐻 thanks, third option sounds easy enough, but perhaps it's better to just have the OS account in the long run. Is a transfer exchange service costly? And what is RBA? Yes charliepotatoes , the third option is easy enough. Wise is a preferred company, used by many for this purpose because of their cheaper transfer costs and mid rate exchange. wise.com/The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) also converts with a mid rate but you don't pay any fees as far as I know. The three options I mentioned all do the same thing; i.e. give you local currency. They can be broken down like this....... Using just your Australian ATM card is convenient as a tourist or for when you're unsure of the duration of your stay. Using a transfer service is used more for the longer term; i.e. sending larger amounts as required or regularly monthly, which may be a requirement to retain visa status in some countries. Once you have settled in, direct deposit from the RBA simplifies things imo, in that your pay arrives like clockwork without you having to do anything and you no longer need to think about when or if you need to transfer any money for specific purposes. Oh; and since it's 4 weekly you get 13 full pays a year, which, if thought about could end up as a bonus...... depending on your lifestyle. Cheers 🐻 Compare services & rates:- www.monito.com/
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 12, 2024 14:26:58 GMT 7
thanks, third option sounds easy enough, but perhaps it's better to just have the OS account in the long run. Is a transfer exchange service costly? And what is RBA? Yes charliepotatoes , the third option is easy enough. Wise is a preferred company, used by many for this purpose because of their cheaper transfer costs and mid rate exchange. wise.com/The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) also converts with a mid rate but you don't pay any fees as far as I know. The three options I mentioned all do the same thing; i.e. give you local currency. They can be broken down like this....... Using just your Australian ATM card is convenient as a tourist or for when you're unsure of the duration of your stay. Using a transfer service is used more for the longer term; i.e. sending larger amounts as required or regularly monthly, which may be a requirement to retain visa status in some countries. Once you have settled in, direct deposit from the RBA simplifies things imo, in that your pay arrives like clockwork without you having to do anything and you no longer need to think about when or if you need to transfer any money for specific purposes. Oh; and since it's 4 weekly you get 13 full pays a year, which, if thought about could end up as a bonus...... depending on your lifestyle. Cheers 🐻 Compare services & rates:- www.monito.com/ thanks
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Post by genx on Feb 12, 2024 17:04:22 GMT 7
Your options will depend on where you are. A lot of people in the replies are staying in Thailand where the withdrawal fee for the ATM is 220 baht, which is almost $10.
What works for me is using an ING Orange Everyday account and an HSBC Global account. I am in Vietnam in the main, but the following is relevant in many countries.
South East Asia has come a long way since COVID, and card payment (or local systems using QR codes) has become the norm.
For most transactions I use my ING card. ING pays back any international transaction fees, and handily shows you the rebate in the app.
For withdrawing money, I use my HSBC card at HSBC branded ATMs. There are no fees associated with withdrawing. If the currency you withdraw is an HSBC currency, you get the HSBC rate. Otherwise you get the visa rate, which is what I get in Vietnam.
Even if I was going to Thailand which doesn't have HSBC ATMs, I'd probably just bring some cash to convert at a money changer.
Obviously all this advice depends on your specific situation.
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Post by bear on Feb 12, 2024 17:51:13 GMT 7
Agreed genx........ one size definitely doesn't fit all, as a perusal through the banking threads definitely shows. Eg. While one particular bank may work great in cities in a country where they have a presence, out in the sticks of that same country it can be a total horror story. Cheers 🐻
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 15, 2024 12:19:51 GMT 7
Your options will depend on where you are. A lot of people in the replies are staying in Thailand where the withdrawal fee for the ATM is 220 baht, which is almost $10. What works for me is using an ING Orange Everyday account and an HSBC Global account. I am in Vietnam in the main, but the following is relevant in many countries. South East Asia has come a long way since COVID, and card payment (or local systems using QR codes) has become the norm. For most transactions I use my ING card. ING pays back any international transaction fees, and handily shows you the rebate in the app. For withdrawing money, I use my HSBC card at HSBC branded ATMs. There are no fees associated with withdrawing. If the currency you withdraw is an HSBC currency, you get the HSBC rate. Otherwise you get the visa rate, which is what I get in Vietnam. Even if I was going to Thailand which doesn't have HSBC ATMs, I'd probably just bring some cash to convert at a money changer. Obviously all this advice depends on your specific situation. thanks, it seems I've got some homework to do yet again. I guess getting some cash upon arrival is the easy route, and figure it out from there. I'm untravelled so all of this is uncharted territory for me
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Post by Banjo on Feb 15, 2024 17:50:26 GMT 7
A friend and former member and I had a discussion today on the advantages of a local bank account vs a money transfer, we worked out the using RIA, which he swears is the best, to transfer my pension up to Thailand every month would, surprisingly, only mean a saving of 500B/$20 a month.
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Post by nomadic on Feb 15, 2024 20:27:45 GMT 7
A friend and former member and I had a discussion today on the advantages of a local bank account vs a money transfer, we worked out the using RIA, which he swears is the best, to transfer my pension up to Thailand every month would, surprisingly, only mean a saving of 500B/$20 a month. No idea how many baht you end up getting if sent here. But you can get a calculator out and work out what I get. I recently transferred A$2000 to Wise and then onto my Thai bank. Received 46,325 baht in minutes.
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Post by genx on Feb 15, 2024 21:26:55 GMT 7
A friend and former member and I had a discussion today on the advantages of a local bank account vs a money transfer, we worked out the using RIA, which he swears is the best, to transfer my pension up to Thailand every month would, surprisingly, only mean a saving of 500B/$20 a month. No idea how many baht you end up getting if sent here. But you can get a calculator out and work out what I get. I recently transferred A$2000 to Wise and then onto my Thai bank. Received 46,325 baht in minutes. Do you pay a percentage to send to your Thai bank?
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Post by charliepotatoes on Feb 15, 2024 23:34:31 GMT 7
A friend and former member and I had a discussion today on the advantages of a local bank account vs a money transfer, we worked out the using RIA, which he swears is the best, to transfer my pension up to Thailand every month would, surprisingly, only mean a saving of 500B/$20 a month. so it's slightly cheaper to transfer than just have it go directly into a local bank? 20 bucks isn't going to make or break you, but it adds up I suppose. That's 240 bucks a year
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